EasyEnglish Bible 2018
1 Corinthians 10:23
23Some of you may say, ‘We are free to do anything that we want to do!’ But not everything is good for you to do. You may say, ‘We are free to do anything!’ But not everything helps you to be strong as a believer.
1 Corinthians 10:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
- New International Version (NIV)“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up.
- New King James Version (NKJV)All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.
Context of 1 Corinthians 10:23
21If you drink anything from the cup of demons, you can not then drink wine from the Lord's cup. If you share a meal with demons, you can not also share in the Lord's meal. 22If we do things like that, we will cause the Lord to be angry. We should worship only him. You know that we are not stronger than he is! Some of you may say, ‘We are free to do anything that we want to do!’ But not everything is good for you to do. You may say, ‘We are free to do anything!’ But not everything helps you to be strong as a believer. 24Do not think about the things that will help you. Instead, each of you should think about what will help other people. 25You can eat any meat that people sell in the market. Do not ask questions about the meat. Do not cause your thoughts to have trouble.
Read all of 1 Corinthians 101 Corinthians 10:23 word by word
Πάντα ἔξεστιν ἀλλ᾽ οὐ πάντα συμφέρει· πάντα ἔξεστιν ἀλλ᾽ οὐ πάντα οἰκοδομεῖ.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 10:23
- 1 Corinthians 6:12Some of you believers may say, ‘I am free to do anything that I want to do.’ That may be true, but not everything will help you. I could say, ‘I am free to do the things that I want to do.’ Yes, but I will not let anything rule over me.
- 1 Corinthians 8:9You are free to eat any kind of food. You understand that. But other Christians do not understand so well. So you must be careful. Do not cause them to do something that they think is wrong.
- Romans 14:15You should not cause another believer to be sad because of what you eat. If you do make him sad, then you are not really loving him. Remember that Christ died on behalf of that person. So do not let your food make him turn away from God.
- 1 Corinthians 8:1You asked me a question about food that people have offered to idols. You say, ‘We all know about these things.’ We know that is true. But when you know about something, that can make you proud. Love is better. Love helps people to become strong.
- 1 Corinthians 14:3But if someone speaks a clear message from God, he helps the people who hear him. He helps them to become stronger as believers. He helps them to be happy and strong in their troubles.
- Romans 14:19So then, we should try to live in a way that brings peace. We should try to help each other so that we become stronger as God's people.
- Romans 15:1Some of us trust God with strong faith. We must help those believers whose faith is weaker. We must be patient with them. We should not just do things that will make us happy ourselves.
- 2 Corinthians 12:19What are you thinking when you read all this? Do you think that we want to show you how good we are? No, we are speaking as people who belong to Christ. God knows us. Everything that we do is to help you. We love you and we want to make you stronger as believers.
- Ephesians 4:29Do not say bad things that hurt or insult people. Instead, say only good things that will help people. Your words should help people to become strong when they hear them.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:11Because of that, you should help each other to become stronger as believers. I know that you are already doing that.
- 1 Timothy 1:4Tell people not to listen to false stories. They should not always be studying long lists of their families' names from years ago. Those things do not help people. They only cause them to argue. Instead, they need to understand God's purpose for us. To do that, people must trust him.
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 10:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23All things are lawful for me - I may lawfully eat all kinds of food, but all are not expedient; · It would not be becoming in me to eat of all, because I should by this offend and grieve many weak minds. See the notes on 1 Corinthians 6:12, etc.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23All things are lawful for me - See the note at 1 Corinthians 6:12. This is a repetition of what he had said before; and it is here applied to the subject of eating the meat that had been offered to idols. The sense is,” Though it may be admitted that it was strictly “lawful” to partake of that meat, yet there were strong reasons why it was inexpedient; and those reasons ought to have the binding force of law.” All things edify not - All things do not tend…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 23-33Verses 23-33 There were cases wherein Christians might eat what had been offered to idols, without sin. Such as when the flesh was sold in the market as common food, for the priest to whom it had been given. But a Christian must not merely consider what is lawful, but what is expedient, and to edify others. Christianity by no means forbids the common offices of kindness, or allows uncourteous behaviour to any, however they may differ from us in religious…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23-24"Everything is permissible": Paul is likely quoting a common saying among the Corinthians and explaining it. Paul clarifies a Christian’s freedom by stressing the importance of doing what benefits others (see 6:12; 10:32–33; Romans 14:13–15, 19–21; 15:1–2; compare Philippians 2:3–4).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. All things are lawful for me, &c.--Recurring to the Corinthian plea (1Co 6:12), he repeats his qualification of it. The oldest manuscripts omit both times "for me." edify not--tend not to build up the spiritual temple, the Church, in faith and love. Paul does not appeal to the apostolic decision (Ac 15:1-29), which seems to have been not so much regarded outside of Palestine, but rather to the broad principle of true Christian freedom, which does not…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Corinthians 10:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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